Has BMW slipped? Is Mercedes now the German performance enthusiast brand of choice?

Has BMW slipped? Is Mercedes now the German performance enthusiast brand of choice?

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Has BMW slipped? Is Mercedes now the German performance enthusiast brand of choice?

Many of us were attracted to German performance by BMW. There was a time when they made cars unlike anyone else. Cars that took no short cuts, with motors that represented the best their engineers had to offer. Now what do we have? Anti-tuning ecu's, the same motor in every car, M SUV's, FWD city cars coming, smaller and smaller motors paired with extreme brand dilution.

While this has all been taking place, Mercedes has upped the ante. Mercedes is producing larger V8's with turbos. Mercedes is not afraid to place these motors in their lower end cars even if it steps on big brothers toes (C63 vs. E63, anyone?). Mercedes has rolled out the SLR, SLS, CLK63 Black Series, and SL65 Black Series. Rumor has it that Mercedes will put their twin turbo V8 in a black series C-coupe. If that isn't upping the ante, I do not know what is.

BMW has announced the next generation M3 will have a 6 cylinder. While they are downsizing Mercedes is sticking a V8 in everything. They are even planning on expanding the AMG lineup and also considering producing an entry level SLS to rival the Porsche 911. Somehow, Mercedes went from being soft to being hardcore offering the black series which takes already potent AMG cars to the next level. Not to mention, unlike BMW and Audi, Mercedes has successfully rolled out all their performance models in the United States. Times are changing folks, and at least to this poster, it sure looks like Mercedes is now the enthusiast brand of choice.

This is a never ending topic- BMW vs MB.. Personally I love my AMGs. I also have a 02 Clk55 which is dead reliable. I never had a car like the C63 which I beat on and never had a issue or problem. Currently have 21K miles. Ive owned a 350z which had many minor problems.

dude that's why M is so especial , no lame cars with M badge for losers who just want to drive something with M logo on it.
on the other hand AMG really lost it with making AMG versions of some lame cars , like R63

I know that from a track perspective, the M is generally the better "driver's" car...but I don't track my car. Personally, I'm into big displacement V8 with not just top-end HP, but TQ to boot. I was considering the E92 M3 coupe and the IS-F before I purchased my C63 but I couldn't reconcile the small displacement, low TQ of the M...I know it's a beautiful engine, but when I mash the throttle, I like to be thrown back into my seat. AMGs have the quality in spades. From a handling perspective, I didn't feel like I was giving up enough (I felt the power disparity btwn AMG and M was great than the handling disparity between M and AMG...make sense?)

Aesthetically, i feel that aMG vehicles tend to look the part more than M cars. I think there is incredible aftermarket and tuner support which helps remedy this but stock for stock, AMG cars look the part...the M aesthetic seem to have evolved in a less aggressive way. I think high performance machines should not only perform the part; they should look, sound and feel the part straight from the factory.

With that said, the M cars are nothing to sneeze at, but I can't say that I'm too impressed with the direction that the division is heading in re: smaller displacement and watered down styling...but that's just my opinion.